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l Two Cou'es Received 

MAY 9 1904 

Cooyrlsht Cntry 
iUo-A *L* 5 > - »q O Mr 


AVewv 

clasjP 


<*- XXc. No. 

n i 

COPY 6 






COPYRIGHTED 190f 
By LEE J. HOWARD 









II O W T O 151 D 
A BOOK 


ILLUSTRATED 


■* 


PUBLISHED BY 
LEE J. HOWARD 



How to Bind a Book. 


3 


INTRODUCTION. 

In the small book, of which this is the pre¬ 
liminary chapter, we propose to treat, suc¬ 
cinctly but completely, of the various practical 
operations gone through in the binding of 
books, and in so doing we shall keep the wants 
of the amateur especially in mind. Unques¬ 
tionably, the bookbinding art is one which 
any intelligent and fairly-handy printer can 
practice in his own ollice; and as the object 
upon which his ingenuity will be exercised 
comes necessarily much into his daily occupa¬ 
tion, lie will experience the lively satisfaction 
of being able to handle a greater variety of 
work than were he to jog along in the old rut, 
turning down much profitable business simply 
for the want of knowing how. Bookbinding is 
a clean and not too laborious occupation, 
which can be easily practiced at odd hours. 
It can be used as an adjunct, or filler-in, to a 
print ing office, as seldom is the word “rush” 
attached to an ordinary binding order. 

In the following chapters we shall go on to 
describe, consecutively, the various processes 
as practiced by a professional bookbinder, 
following each by any expedients which may 
seem more within the power of the amateur. 
We must, at the outset, beg those who desire 
to take up the work to lend their best attention 
to the subject. Bookbinding is, undoubtedly, 
a delicate and difficult art, and it is almost im¬ 
possible to describe some of even its simplest 


4 


How to Bind a Book. 


processes. We would suggest that the student 
make an object lesson of some old books, and 
by saturating them with water and carefully 
taking them apart, beginning at the top, as in 
demolishing a house, or, in other words, com¬ 
mence with the last act herein described in 
binding a book, and follow back to the first. 
In so doing he will get a clear idea on the sub¬ 
ject, and will find that he is a long way on the 
road to success. In many cases the slightest 
deviation from the teaching will risk inevitable 
failure in the process described; but to make 
up, as far as may be, for the lack of personal 
showing “how to do it,” we shall illustrate 
quite freely the various operations at different 
stages. 

If the desire was to “pad out” this book, 
we could go into the history of the art and de¬ 
vote a goodly share of its pages to that sub¬ 
ject, but as it is the intention to make it a 
raanuel of instruction, all unnecessary and ob¬ 
solete matter will be left out. In the matter of 
design in finishing books, we suggest that you 
carefully stiidy those that come under your 
observation, and you will be able to gain a 
great deal of information. 

The/process of binding the different styles 
of books will be taken up separately, begin¬ 
ning with the simplest, or check binding, and 
the different tools and appliances will be men¬ 
tioned and described as they come into use. 
The reader will be surprised and pleased at 
the variety of work that can be done with a 
very small outlay for the equipment of his 


llow to Bind a Book. 


bindery. In the back of the book will be found 
a list of the articles mentioned in the book 
together with their probable cost and where 
they may be obtained. 

There is one thing you must get thoroughly 
impressed upon your mind, and that is clean¬ 
liness and neatness in all your operations. 
Nothing mars the beauty of a book and spoils 
the temper of a customer so much as finger¬ 
marks and wrinkles in the paper. They can 
easily be avoided, and if at the very beginnin 
you practice cleanliness, it will become as 
second nature to you, and will be a source of 
much satisfaction to you all through your 
career as a binder of books. 

The Publisher. 

Lincoln, Nebraska. 



bJO c3 


How to Bind a Book. 


« 


OHAP'lEB I. 

CHECK BINDING. 

In drifting 1 around over the country we have 
bumped up against printing offices where they 
made no pretension of doing even check hind* 
ing some claiirpng it didn’t pay to “monkey” 
with it, and others had this excuse and that 
excuse; when, if they had stated the facts, they 
would have been compelled to admit they did 
not know how to put a simple hinge back on a 
check or receipt book. 

The only outlu\ for tools to do check bind¬ 
ing is a bone folder, (one that comes to a point 
at one end is the best, for it can be used to the 
* best advantage all through the different pro¬ 
cesses of binding,) a common pegging awl, a 
pound • of Hayes’ No. 1(1 linen thread, two 
dressed inch boards, twelve or fourteen inches 
wide, and short enough to slide in under the 
paper eutter clamp, a paper of blunt needles, 
quart glue pot, a glue brush, and, say, live 
pounds of ground glue. Binder’s cloth can be 
purchased in any quantity from one yard up, 
(I would suggest black cloth to commence 
with,) and marble board can also be purchased 
in any quantity desired. Get two yards of 
seven or eight cent bleached muslin, and you 
will probably have enough stock to bind all 
the receipt books you get. for a year. 

We will say your first order is for 50*> re¬ 
ceipts to be check bound in five books of 
each. When you cut the stock for he job add 


Flow to Bind a Book. 



enough to have ten sheets extra and lay them 
aside for waste leaves. After the job is printed 
and ink dry, divide in five equal piles, get the 
ten waste leaves and place one on each side of 
each hook, then lay the books on top of each 
other, jog them up straight and tab them on 
the end where they are to be sewed. By tab¬ 
bing them it keeps them straight while punch¬ 
ing the holes, sewing, and, in fact, keeps them 
in better shape during all the process of bind¬ 
ing. While they are drying, cut ten pieces of 
marble hoard the same size as the books, five 
pieces of muslin the same width as the books 
and three inches long; also five pieces of bind¬ 
er's cloth the same size as the muslin. Now 
get your glue pot in shape by lifting out the 
smaller pot and filling the other one about 
two-thirds full of cold water, sot the small one 
back in its place and put about equal parts of 
glue and water in it and set pot on the stove 
to get hot. Luckily it is winter now and you 
can melt your glue on the heating stove, but 
later on you will have to get a one-burner gas¬ 
oline stove. 

By this time the books are drv, and you 
carefully cut them apart, making sure that the 
waste leaves are left on the book in their 
proper position. Take the five pieces of mus¬ 
lin and lay them one on top of mother all in 
one pile; paste the top one and lift it up and 
place it on the back of a book, letting it extend 
equally up each side of the book. Proceed 
with the balance of the books the same way. 
Stack tip the ten sheets of marble* board on top 


8 


How to Hind a Book. 


of each other, marble side down; paste the 
top one and lay it on a book, leaving- half an 
inch at the back for sewing purposes; this will 
cause the board to extend over front of book 
half an inch. Turn the book over and paste 
another board and place it in position; and so 
on until you have the boards on all five books. 
Right here let me caution you to always put an 
old newspaper or other waste paper on table 
when you are pasting or gluing anything, as it 
keeps the table clean. 

Place one of the boards under the paper- 
cutter clamp in such a position that were the 
knife to descend it would split the board half 
in two. Lay the books along on this board 
place the oilier board on top of them and 
screw down the clamp. Leave the books in 
that position for an hour, then loosen the 
clamp and push the top board back about 
three inches, and screw down clamp again. 
You now take the awl and mallet and punch 
three holes in eech book about a quarter of an 

^ m - imi wr ww i t mm Jtt J Cgai imwi - 


i»m»—ian.1 ■ " Mi n i.— , mm mm i - 

(The (.lurk lines represent the cover, the lijfht lines the 
book, and the dots the location of the holes.) 

inch in from the back, using care that the end 
holes are far enough in for the knife to clear 
them when trimming the book. The books are 
ready bo sew now, and vou take them back to 
the table and get the needle and thread: also 
take a glance at the glue to see how it is com- 








How to Bind a Book. 


p 

ing on, as you will need it in a few minutes. 

The knot in the thread should always lx* at the 

back of the book in this kind of binding, so 

turn ihe book on its face and pass needle down 

through the center hole and up through hole at 

the right hand: pass the center hole and insert 

needle down through hole at left hand and 

back up through center hole in such a position 

that the long stitch will be between the two 

\ 

i 

\ 

I 

i 

(The stitch in check or pamphlet binding.) 
threads. Now to tie the knot—have the long 
thread in your right hand, hold left hand in 
front of your body, palm towards you. the 
three last lingers closed, the thumb and first 
linger open and pointing toward your right 
arm. Pass the long thread around thumb and 
linger of left hand, going over them and from 
the body and bring the thread back under 
them; you now have a loop. Turn the left 
hand so thumb and finger will point in front of 
you and down toward the middle hole of the 



(The loop in making the knot.) 


10 


How to Bind a Book. 


book whore the short end of the thread is ex¬ 
tended. Grasp the short end of the thread be¬ 
tween the thumb and finger and let the loop 
slide oil' over them and around the thread end. 
at the same time pull the long end with the 
right hand and you have the binder’s knot. 
Tie another knot, and cut oil' the thread, leav¬ 
ing say half an inch extending from the knot. 
Proceed with the other books the same way. 
then take them to the paper cutter, lay them on 
the edge of the bed, and pound down the holes 
and knot with a hammer. 

You now glue the cloth and put it on the 
same way you did the muslin, using care to 
rub it down well with the folder. Stack the 
books up “backs and fronts” as it is called, 
or, in other words, let the back of the second 
book be turned around opposite from the back 
of the first book, and so on; letting the backs 
extend out far enough so the freshly glued 
cloth will not touch the book below it. Put a 
small weight on them while they dry. In 
about half an hour, or when they are almost 
dry, it would be well to go over the cloth 
again with the bone folder to make sure that 
the cloth is fitting the back and joints snugly. 
In another hour they will be dry enough to 
trim. Trim the sides first, then the end; and 
when trimming the sides have the backs of the 
books toward the side of the cutter that the 
knife descends from; that way there will be no 
danger of the knife pushing the cloth away 
from the book. If you trim all five of the 
hooks at once, put strips of strawboard be- 


How TO Bind a Book. 


11 


tween the backs to fill up the spaces caused by 
the hinge. 

Your books are now ready for delivery, 

and this ends the first lesson in check binding. 

Some parts of it may have com** a little 

awkward to you the first time, but bv the time 

you do another job or two it will all come 

liandv. In conclusion I wish to sav that some 
«- »• 

binders prefer st.rawboard covered with marble 
paper, rather than the marble board. The 
only difference in the process of binding is 
that the marble paper is glued ami laved on 
the boards smoothly the next step after the 
binder’s cloth is put on. Always use glue on 
your marble paper, as paste “kills” its glossy 
finish. 

Pamphlet Binding. 


In binding pamphlets the sewing i the same 
as for checks and the cover glued on. When 
the pamphlets have only a few sections and 
are printed properly they should be inserted 
and stitched through the fold, or “saddle- 
backed.’’ This way the cover is st itched on at 
the same time, using a sharp needle*, and the 
knot should be in the center of the book. 



• 7 . 



L 


cf 


u. 




f 


How to Bind a Book. 


\t 


Chapter li. 

HALF LEATHER BINDING. 

The cheek books we bound in the preceding 
chapter so pleased our friend the banker that 
he gave us another order. He wants 500 drafts 
bound 3-on, and would like a little better job 
of binding put on this book, if we can do it. 
Of course we can do it. We’ll give him a 
leather back and leather corners and cloth 
sides book. The only addition we will have to 
make to our equipment will be to step over to 
the tin shop and get a sheet of tin and have it 
cut in two equal parts. We should also have 
a paring knife. The only addition to the stock 
on hand for this job is a skin of leather, known 
to the trade as butting, which will contain 
about twenty-lour square feet and will cost 
us about $2.40. Our first move will be to take 
two sheets of paper of corresponding size and 
a trifle heavier if possible. Place one on each 
side of the book, the same as we did on our 
check books, then jog up perfectly straight and 
lay on table with binding end out and give a 
coat of the tableting composition, then paste 
muslin strip on. When dry we take a bradawl 
and punch five holes directly through muslin 
and all and about half an inch from the end 
and toward the front, punching the two end 
holes in far enough to avoid cutting into the 
stitch when trimming the book. We now pro¬ 
ceed to stitch the book by using the thread 
double, laying the book face downward. We 


How to Bind a Book. 


13 


first pass the thread down the middle hole, 
leaving about two inches of surplus thread to 
tie a knot with, then over to next hole on the 
right pass up and over to end hole on the 
right and down, then over to next hole on the 
left and up, then pass, skipping the. middle 
hole, over to the first hole on left of middle 
hole and down, then over to end hole on the 
left and up over to next hole on the right and 
down, over to middle hole and up, where we 
find the two ends of the. thread, and we form a 
good hard knot. 

The book being stitched we hammer the 
stitch a little to flatten it and then trim the 
book to its required margin. This done we 
take the straw-board, as we have no other in 
stock, and cut it an eighth of an inch larger all 
around than the book, allowing of course for 
the joint, which would he about three-fourths 
of an inch smaller in middle than the hook 
would be in its flush slate, this of course would 
give us our projecting squares as they are 
called. The boards being cut we will now at¬ 
tach them temporarily by tipping them with 
glue on the waste leaves about the middle of 
the edge of the boards to the back (this is done 
to hold them in place), avoiding any shift that 
would be liable to happen if the boards were 
not securely fastened in their proper position. 
The next move will be to cut the leather for the 
back and corners. To get the back the right 
size, we figure for the thickness of the book in 
this wav: One hundred and sixty-seven sheets 
of ordinary paper would be about three- 




14 


Flow to Bind a Book. 


% 

quarters of an inch thick, our joints half-inch 
each and the lap on the boards about an inch 
each, making the width of the leather back 
about three and three-quarters inches in all 
and an inch and three-quarters longer than the 
book, thus allowing for the turn-in and in¬ 
cluding the projecting squares. The leather 
for back being cut we now pare the edges, lay¬ 
ing the leather face down on a piece of glass 
or tin and paring it all around; this done we 
paste it well and fold it over, giving the leather 
a chance to soak up a little. After lying in 
this state about five minutes \ e take the book 
and glue its back lightly and then attach the 
back, drawing it over Firmly and evenly. 

We now stand the book on its back in a 
perpendicular position, and let the boards and 
the waste leaves lie on the table Hat, still hold¬ 
ing the book up perpendiculary with the left 
hand, and while in this position bring the 
boards down to easy working and turn the 
leather in under the hook and over the hoard, 
at the same time forcing it in good and tight. 
Turning the book, we repeat the same action 
on the other end, and then close the book per¬ 
fectly strait. And while in such state carefully 
•> « 

rub the back with a folder and place the 
grooves in the joint by rubbing it in with the 
point of the folder. We now lay the book 
aside, being careful of its being perfectly 
straight, and while it is drying we cut the cor¬ 
ners for it. In order to make this plain, we 
will illustrate the shape the corners should he 
cut. As there is but one way to do this, it may 


How to Bind a Book. 


15 


puzzle an amateur to tell how it is done simple 
as it may appear. The corners must be cut in 
the shape shown in Fig. 1, and the edges pared 



all around. The book may be safely handled 
now, and the corners attached. The turning in of 
the corners will come quite naturally, and needs 
no explanation farther than practice before 
pasting them, as there is but one way to place 
them on the boards, and the shape of the 
corner will help very readily in its completion. 
The corners and back being in their place, the 
book is now what we call in leather, and right 
here the tins come in play. Hut them between 
the covers and the book. Always keep tins bc- 
between the dampness and the book or you will 
have some bad wrinkles in your book. 

The next n ove, therefore, is to put the cloth 
sides on it. We will again have to illustrate 
the shape these are cut as we did the corners, 
there being but one way to cut these. After 
allowing a half-inch turn-in on the boards, we 
cut the corners in the shape illustrated in Fig. 
2, lapping corners and back about an eight of 
an inch. This done, we glue the cloth as evenly 
as possible and lay it on, rubbing it hard and 
even, and then lifting the boards turn in the 
edges firmly, repeating the same, thing for the 
other side. The book is now sided, and after 







1 () 


How to KifJn a Hook. 



leaving it to dr.v for a half hour or so. we per¬ 
form the last course by pasting it up, as it is 
called. This is done by detaching the boards 
where we tipped them before adding the leather 
and after detaching them pasting the waste 
leaves very evenly with moderately heavy 
paste, and then close the covers and place be¬ 
tween two boards and put the book under the 
cutter clamp and squeeze hard, leaving it 
under pressure as long as possible but not less 
than two hours. When taken out the book is 
ready for delivery, and we have bound what is 
called a half-bound, cloth sides book. 



} 


\ 



How to Bind a Book. 


17 


Chaptbu Ill. 

FLEXIBLE BINDING. 

The subject of this chapter we will divide 
into two cla'.-i's. For the first example we will 
take a bank pass book. To do this job you 
will not have lo add anything to the equipment 
of your bindery, but to stock you will have to 
add a quire of leatherette. We take it for 
granted that you have some manila board on 
hand. The paper for this job will have to be 
special ruled at your paper house, and when 
you print it, it would be well to do the printing 
on the leatlr ivite at the same time, so they 
will both dr\ together. When you cut up the 
leatherette paper, cut it one eighth of an inch 
larger the fold-way than the ruled paper, so 
that when t are folded together they will 
come even n front. Also cut from manila 
board as mu \ pieces as you intend to have 
hooks and the same size as the leatherette. 
The manila hoard, to do a nice, neat job, will 
have to be scored at the fold. Just take rollers 
off the job press and lock up a piece of column 
rule in chase and it will only take a few min¬ 
utes time and result in a much neater job. 

The first step in binding the books is to fold 
the sheets of paper and gather them into books, 
fold the manila boards and insert the books 
into them as though they were the covers. 
Now comes the sewing and if you can get at an 
ordinary sewing machine that will make a 
stitch about a quarter of an inch long you can 


18 


How to Hind a Book. 


do a much neater job of sewing, if not. sew the 
same as though it were a small pamphlet; of 
course which ever way you do the job it must 
be sewed “saddle-hack,” or through the fold, 
and if sewed by hand have the knot on the in¬ 
side, if sewed on machine commence about one- 
fourth of an inch in from the end and stop the 
same distance from the other end. Then draw 
both threads through to outside of back and 
tie hard knots. That will keep thread from 
raveling out. You now lay a number of the 
leatherette covers on top of each other, paste, 
the top one, and lay it at another place on the 
table, paste side up. Bay the hook on it, 
edges even, and bring the other side >ver and 
smooth it down with your hand. When you 
get say a dozen finishrd put them ’ tween the 
boards and screw down the cutter clamp on 
them snugly and let them stay while \nu paste 
up some more. Then take them out pile on 
top of each other and weight down. J’ut the 
other lot under the clamp, and so on until you 
have them all covered. The books should all 
be piled several deep between the boards and 
left under the clamp over night, but b< careful 
to see that they do not stick together. In the 
morning the books are ready to be trimmed, 
and if you have a round-corner cutter, round 
the corners; if not, you can do a fairly satis¬ 
factory job with a round chisel, or gouge, by 
piling several on top of each other on a board 
under the cutter clamp to hold them stationary. 
They are then ready for delivery. The price is 
usually from six to eight dollars a hr.mired. 


How to Bind a Book. 


10 


To do the next job of flexible binding you 
will have to make some additions to your 
equipment, namely: A sewing bench, a finish¬ 
ing press, a small saw and a ball of soft twine. 
You can have a carpenter make a sewing 
bench, by having a blacksmith make two half¬ 
inch rods about fifteen inches long, cutting 



(Sewing Dench.) 

threads on each end about four inches long 
and putting two nuts on each end; or you can 
buy it of a binder’s supply house. It would 
be best to make your finishing press, as you 
will have to use it for sawing and backing the 
books, and it should be quite strong. Use 4x6 
finished hard pine thirty inches long, and two 
carpenter’s iron bench screws, one at each end. 

This job of binding is an old book from 
which the back has become detached, and the 
party wishes it bound full leather flexible. Lay 
the book on the table with the back extending 







20 


Flow to Bind a Book. 


slightly over the edge and give a heavy coat of 
paste all over the back for the purpose of 
loosening up the old glue. In about an hour 
you can scrape the old glue and the paste all 



(Finishing Press.) 

off with the folder or a dull knife. Now take 
the book carefully apart in its original sec¬ 
tions by cutting the threads carefully, using 
extreme caution not to tear the paper. Lay 
the sections on top of each other in their 
proper order so they will not get mixed up. 







TIow to Bind a Book. 


2L 


Old books that have to be resewed should 
have new kerfs sawed in them for the cords and 
kettle stitches. In the next chapter we will 
fully describe the sawing in, sewing, trimming, 
rounding, backing and attaching the end 
leaves, so will proceed with this book as 
though we had just trimmed it. As a small 
flexible book looks better with round corners 
we will use the chisel bn it and round the 
corners. Then lay it on the table with the 
back projecting slightly and give a coat of 
glue. When the glue is almost dry, round the 
book. Take it back to the table, and if you 
wish to color the edges, lay the front of the 
book even with the edge of the table, place a 
small board on top of it, and with your right 
hand apply the color with a small round 
brush, while pressing down on the board with 
the left hand. Proceed the same way with the 
ends. Books bound llexible are not lined up 
nor are headbands used, consequently the next 
step is to get a sheet of about 150-lb. inanila 
board and cut the boards for the book, letting 
them extend an eighth of an inch larger than 
the book at each end and the front and come 
up almost even with the back. Be sure and 
get the same round on the corners that there is 
on the book. In cutting the leather for the 
book allow about three-eighths of an inch for 
turn-in all around the book, and it would be 
better to cut a pattern for the size of the 
leather out of a sheet of paper. Cut a strip of 
paper three-fourths of an inch wider than the 
manila board is long, then place boards in 


22 


How to Bind a Book. 


their proper positions on the book; now catch 
the book at each end with thumb and finger 
and lay it on the pattern in such position that 
will leave equal margin in front and at each 
end, then with the right hand pressing lightly 
on the book to keep board in place, bring the 
paper pattern up over the book with the left 
hand, then let the left hand rest on the book 
near the back and remove the right hand and 
paper will fall in its proper position. You 
now mark the paper for the proper margin in 
front. Remove the book and proceed to cut 
the leather, after which round the corners 
slightly and pare the edges. 

The next move will be to paste the leather 
thoroughly, then place the book on it the same 
way you did on the paper pattern, being very 
careful that the boards are in their proper 
position. Bring the leather up over the book 
the same as the pattern, and examine the book 
to see that the margins, or “squares,” are 
properly divided, then lay the leather back 
from oil the top of the book with the top board 
adhering to it. Lay the book to one side and 
proceed to turn the leather in around the 
boards, the ends first, then the sides. 

To get a nice crimp at the corners the 
leather must now be raised up for about half 



an inch at the corners and by using a stick 







How to Bind a Book. 


23 


made like the above out of a piece of nonpareil 
or pica riglet six or eight inches long, with the 
sharp edges rounded olT, you can turn in the 
corners nicely. Go all around the edges and 
rub down well with the folder; then turn the 
cover, or “case,” as it is generally called, 
over and rub down well with tlx 1 hands. Do 
not use the folder on the outside of the case as 
it is liable to ruin the grain of tin' leather. 

You will now take up some paste with your 
linger and rub it on the leather where it comes 
up to the hack of tlie book, then give the back 
of the book a coat of hot glue and lay the book 
in its proper position on the case. Bring the 
case up over the book and draw it up snugly 
at the back. Care must be taken to have the 
book in its proper location in the ease, for it 
is to be left for an hour or so to dry with a 
weight on top of it. and the wa\ the book dries 
in the case so will it remain for all time. 

The last step will be to raise the top cover, 
tear out the waste sheet and give the next one 
below it a coat of paste, and lower the cover 
on it. Turn the book and proceed the same 
way with the other side, after which put be¬ 
tween hoards and give a medium squeeze 
under the cutter clamp, where it is to be left 
for an hour or so, then remove, and the job is 
done, or ready to be lettered. For lettering in 
gold on this kind of work full directions will 
be given further along in the book.' 


24 


How to Hind a Book. 




CHAPTT2II IV. 

EDITION BINDING. 

Under this heading we shall describe all- 
cloth binding; also half leather or ‘•library” 
binding. This will call for a number of ad¬ 
ditions to your equipment, among which will 
be a standing press, backing hammer, lettering 





■ >■ 'n.i 


i' I 
f rt! 


i (Standing Press. TJj having your bard a a re dealer 
‘ order a 3-lneh house jack, i ciiruetiter eau make ‘the 
above. It is not necessary to attach iron rod n arked A.) 


pallet, gilding roll, gold cushion, gold knife, 
two brass-bound boards, and two st«. d-faced 
backing boards. 

































How to Bind a Book. 


In addition to the stock already on hand 
you will have to add a bundle each of Nos. 20, 
25 and 40 binder’s board, a pound of Hayes’ 
No. 10 2-cord linen thread, book of gold leaf, 
box of gilding powder, a quire of fancy paper 
for end leaves, a few yards of art canvas cloth 
of two or three different shades. 

Our first example will be a volume of some 
magazine to be bound all-cloth. You first 
take off the covers, then with a make-up rule 
pry up the clinches of the wire staples, then 
pry the staples out, if you can, if not, remove 
the sections one at a time, beginning at the 
back. Lay aside all advertising sections and 
carefully place the different sections together 
in their proper positions, with the index in 
front. The book is now taken and knocked 
straight both head and back and put in the 
finishing press between hoards, projecting 
from them about an eighth of an inch, (see 
illustration of finishing press.) The book and 
boards are held tightly with the left hand, and 
the whole carefully lowered into the press; the 
right hand regulating the screws, which should 
be screwed up tightly. 

The book is now quite straight, and firmly 
fixed in the press, and we have to decide if it is 
to be sewed flexible or not. If for flexible 
binding, as described in the preceding chapter, 
the book is not to be sawn in, but marked; tin* 
difference -being, that in -flexible binding the 
cord is outside the sheets; in .edition binding 
the cord is imbedded in the back, in the cut or 
groove -made by the saw. We will take the 


2(1 


How to Bind a Book. 


flexible first), and suppose that the book before 
us is an ordinary 8vo. volume. 

The back should be divided into four equal 
portions, leaving 1 the bottom, or tail, half an 
inch longer than the rest, simply because of a 
curious optical illusion, by which, if the 
spaces were all equal in width, the bottom one 
would appear to be the smallest, although 
accurately of the same width as the rest. A 
square is now to be laid upon the back exactly 
to the marks, and marked pretty black with a 
lead pencil; the head and tail must, now be 
sawn in to imbed the chain of the kettle stitch 

? 

, 

1 

B S 2 1 A 

(The hack marked up for the sawintr in.) 

at A and 11, and at a distance suflicient to pre¬ 
vent the thread being divided when trimming 
the book. In flexible work great accuracy 
is absolutely necessary throughout the whole 
of the work, especially in the marking up, as 
the form of the bands will be visible when 
covered, it will he easily seen if the book has 
been knocked up straight by laying the square 
at the head when the book is in the press, and 
if it is not straight, it must be taken out and 
corrected. 

When the book is to be “sawn in,” it is 
marked up as for flexible work, but the back is 
sawn, both for the bands, 1, 2 and 3, and kettle 
stitches A and B, with a tennon saw. In 










IIow to Bind a Book. 


choosing the saw, it should be one with the 
teeth not spread out too much. Care must he 
taken that the saw does not enter too deeply, 
and one must, in all cases, be guided in the 
depth by the thickness of the cord to be used. 
The size of the book should determine the 
thickness of the cord, as the larger the book, 
the stronger and thicker must be the cord. 

I think nothing looks worse than a book 
with great holes in the back, sometimes to be 
seen when the book is opened, which are due 
to the inattention of the workmen. Besides, it 
causes great inconvenience to tlie forwarder if 
the cords are loose, and the only thing he can 
do in such a case is to cram a lot of glue into 
the grooves to keep the cord in its place. If, 
on the other hand, the saw cuts are not deep 
enough, the cord will stand out from the back, 
and be distinctly seen when the book is finished, 
if not remedied by extra strips of leather or 
paper between the bands when lining up. It is 
better to use double thin cord instead of one 
thick one for large books, because the two 
cords will lie and imbed themselves in the back, 
whereas one large one will not, unless very 
deep and wide saw cuts be made. Large folios 
should be sawn on four or five bands, but 
three for an 8vo. is the right number, from 
which all other sizes can be regulated. 

Flexible V/ork .—The “sewing press” consists 
of a bed, two screws and a cross bar, which 
has already been illustrated and described. 
Three pieces of cord are cut from the ball of 
soft twine long enough to have a slip knot at 


28 


How to Bind a Book. 


one end with a nail inserted therein and to ex¬ 
tend up to the cross bar, go around it twice 
and tie a knot. Pass the nails down through 
the slot in the bed of the press and secure the 
other ends of the cords to the cross bar, then 
screw up nuts rather tightly; but loose enough 
to allow cords to move freely backwards or 
forwards. Having the book on the bed of the 
press with the back towards the sewer, a few 
sheets (better than only one) are laid against 
the cords, and they are arranged exactly to 
the marks made on the back of the sections. 
When quite true and perpendicular, they 
should be made tight by screwing the beam up. 
It will be better if the cords are a little to the 
right of the press, so that the sewer may get 
her or his left arm to rest better on the press. 
If when the press is tightened one of the cords 
is loose, as will sometimes happen, a pencil, 
folding-stick or other object slipped under the 
cord on the top of the beam will tighten it 
sufficiently. 

The first section is now to be laid against 
the bands, and the needle introduced through 
the kettle stitch hole (A) on the right of the* 
book, which is the head. The left hand being 
within the center of the section, the needle is 


--;- 

...... - 

— — 

% 





Bi 3 

2 

i 

:a 


taken with it, and thrust out on the left of the 
band marked 1; the needle being taken with tiie 
right hand, is again introduced on the right of 











IIow to Hi no a Book. 


the same band, thus making a complete circle 
round it. This is repeated with each band in 
succession, and the needle brought out of the 
section at kettle-hole (B), the next section is 
now laid in place, the center found, and needle 
inserted at (B) where it is taken with the left 
hand and passed out on the right-hand side of 
cord (3) and in on left-hand side of same cord. 
Draw the thread in good and plump, but be 
careful not to tear the paper. Proceed in the 
same manner at cords (2) and (1) and pass 
needle out a kettle-hole (A), where you tie the 
long thread to the end protruding from the 
first section with the knot already described. 
Proceed with the third section the same as 
first one to bringing needle out at (B). then 
pass needle in between sections one and two and 
to right of thread that connects them at ( B), 
and bring it out at left of book. Pull the 
cord pretty well through and bring it around 
to the back of the book where you pass needle 
up through the loop, and you have formed the 
kettle-stitch. Proceed with the sewing, form¬ 
ing kettle stitches at each end until the book 
is finished, when you tie an extra knot or two 
to make it more secure, (’are must be taken 
not to draw the kettle-stitches too tight or the 
thread may break when rounding the hook. 

In Ordinary Work the saw kerfs are made at 
(A) and (B) the same as flexible, also at (1). (2) 
and (3). The starting of the sewing at (A) is 
the same, but the needle is brought out to the 
right of cord (1) and inserted at the left of the 
same cord, then passed to cord (2) and the 


How to Bind a Book. 


30 


same thing repeated, and so on to the end. In 
sewing a book with a large number of pages it 
is often necessary to sew ‘*2-on” to keep down 
the swell in the back caused by too much 
thread. The illustration below will suffice to 






J 





1 



o 

X 


B 

3 

o 

1 

•A 


make the instruction clear. The first tw» sec¬ 
tions should be sewed the ordinary -wiy just 
described. Lay on section three an i insert 
needle at (A) and out again at right of cord (I), 
then lay on section four, leaving bone older 
at center of section three so it can b easily 
found again, insert needle in section four at 
left of cord (1) at mark (x), then out at right of 
cord (2); in at left of cord (2) and out at right 
of cord (3) at mark (o), then down to s etion 
three and in at left of cord (3) and <>ut at 
kettle-hole (B), where you form the kettle- 
stitch. Place section five and insert needle at 
kettle-hole (B) and out at left of cord (3). then 
place section six and insert needle at right of 
cord (3), and so on to the last two sections, 
which should be sewed straight across, the 
same as the first two sections. As a needle-full 
of thread becomes exhausted, tie the end of the 
new thread to the old one close up at outside of 
book, thereby you will have a continuous 
thread all through the book. 

The magazine is now sewed the ordinary 
way. Cut the cords about two inches above 
the book, turn the nails so they will come 










How to Bind a Book. 


31 


through the slit in the bed of sewing bench 
and lift book off, removing the nails and draw¬ 
ing out the knots in the cords. The next step 
is to throw the first section of the book hack, 
lay a straight strip of paper along on the. 
second section between an eighth and a quarter 
of an inch from the back and with the middle 
finger of your right hand take up some paste 
and rub along on section two at the back 
where it is not covered by the waste sheet. 
Then turn the top section back in its place, 
turn book and proceed the same way with the 
other side. The object is t< secure the two 
outside sections in such a wav that they will 

t r */ 

not “start’’ or get out of their proper locations 
when rounding the book. 

You now take two sheets of the fancy paper 
and two sheets of ordinary M. F. book paper 
and cut them as large again as the book. Fold 
the sheets in the center, the fancy sheets so 


A 



(Leaves "fannecl-out” for pasting. (A) is waste sheet.) 

their color will be inside. Lay one fancy sheet 
on top of the other one, (or “fan them out” as 
it is called,) so their backs will lack a quarter 
of an inch of coming even, then lay a strip of 


















32 


How to Bind a Book. 


paper on the top sheet a quarter of an inch in 
from its hack. Take a small amount of paste 
on brush and paste the uncovered portions of 
sheets,then lay back top leaves of plain sheets 
and place fancy sheets in them even with the 
folds. Turn top sheet over on the fancy one 
and rub down slightly with the folder. The 
end sheets are now secured together. Now lay 
one on top of the other the same as you did 
the fancy sheets, pasted side up, give them a 
coat of paste and turn them over and attach 
them to the top and bottom of the book. Then 
rub them down well and let stand for a short 
time to dry. The book is now ready to trim. 
Trim the front first, then the ends. Care must 
be taken to keep the book ♦perfectly square up 
and down when trimming the book. To offset 
the swell in the back when trimming ends place 
a small board on top of the book with the end 
next to the back of the book beveled up. That 
will allow cutter clamp to come down square on 
the book. 

The book being trimmed, the next thing in 
order is to give the back a good coat of hot 
glue, rubbing it in well between the sections. 
While the glue is drying it will be well to cut 
the boards for the cover out of a No. 20 
board. It should be cut about one-third of an 
inch longer than the book and the same width. 
It is a good idea to paste a sheet of plain, 
blank paper and attach it to the roughest or 
inner side of the board, for in drying the 
paper has a tendency to warp the board 
in toward the book. If this is not done, when 


flow to Bind a Book. 


33 



the cloth is put on it will warp the boards out 
from the book. When the glue is almost dry 
the next step will be the rounding. 

In rounding the back, the book is to be laid 
on the finishing press, imposing stone or bed 
of cutter, before the workman with the foredge 
towards him; the book is then to be held with 


(iloutidlntf the Hack of a Book. 


the left hand by placing the thumb on the 
foredge and fingers on the top of the book 
pointing towards the back, so that by drawing 
the fingers towards the thumb, or by pressing 






34 


How to Bind a Book- 



(Proper Position in Sewing.) 

treated in the same way, and continually 
changed or turned from one side to the other 
until it has its proper form, which should be a 
part of a circle. When sufficiently rounded, it 
should be examined to see if one side be per- 


" .■' •••■ ~~. 


mi. :■ .'ii>ii .ii’i'tiiiiiMii ntininnF 


fingers and thumb together, the back is drawn 
towards the workman at an angle. In this 
position the back is struck with the face of the 
hammer, beginning in the center, still drawing 
the back over with the left hand. The book is 
then to be turned over, and the other side 









How to Bind a Book. 


3. r , 


fectly level with tho other, by holding the book 
up and glancing down its back, and gently 
tapping the places where uneven, until it is 
perfectly, true or uniform. The thicker the 
book the more didicult it will be found to 
round it; and some papers will be found more 
obstinate than others, so that great care must 
be exercised both in rounding and backing, as 
the foredge will have exactly the same form as 
the back. Nothing can be more annoying than 
to see books lop-sided, pig-backed, and with 
sundry other ailments, inherent to cheap book¬ 
binding. The back when properh rounded 
should be about a third of a circle. 

The boards required for baching are called 
backing boards, and can be bought steel lined 
at so much per running inch, or they can he 
home-made out of some tough material. They 
have their tops plain'd at an angle, so that the 
sheets mav fall well over. The hook is now 

t 

ready to be backed. 

Hold the book in the left hand, lay a board 
on one side, a little away from th>> back, tak¬ 
ing the edge of the top sheet as a guide, the 
distance to be the thickness of the bind¬ 
ing boards intended to be used. Then turn 
over the book, with the backing board, hold¬ 
ing the board to tin* book by the thumb, so 
that it does not shift, and lay the other board 
at exactly the same distance on tie* other side. 
'Phe whole is now to Ik* held tightly by the left 
hand and lowered into the press. The boards 
may possibly have shifted a little during the 
process, and any correction may now be made 


Flow to Bind a Book. 


whilst the press holds the book before screwing 
lip tight, sucli as a slight tap with the hammer 
to one end of a board that may not be quite 
true, it will be better to take the whole out 
and readjust them, rather than lose time in 
trying to rectify the irregularity by any other 
method. If the rounding is not quite true it 
will be seen at once, and the learner must not 
be disheartened if he has to take his book out 
of the press two or three times to correct any 
slight imperfection. 

The book and boards having 1 been lowered 
Hush with the cheeks of the press, screw it up 
as tightly as possible with the iron hand-pin. 
The back of the book must now be gently 
struck with the hammer, holding it slanting 



and heating the sheets well over towards the 
backing boards. Commence from the center of 
the back and do not bit too hard, or the dent 
made by the hammer will show after the book 
has been covered. Each side must be treated 
in the same way, and have the same amount of 
weight and beating. The back must have a 
gradual hammering, and the shorts, when 























How to Bind a Book. 


•j i 


knocked one way, must not be knocked back 
again. The hammer should be swung with a 
circular motion, always away from the center 
of the back. The book, when opened after 
backing, should be entirely without wrinkles: 
their presence being a sign that the workman 
“did not know his business, or that it was care¬ 
lessly done. Backing and cutting constitute 
the chief work in forwarding, and if these two 
are not done properly the book cannot be 
square and solid two great essentials in book¬ 
binding. Books bound flexible, owing to the 
thinness of the covers, need not be backed. 

Our book being rounded and backed, the 
next thing in order is to take it out of the 
press, put a small board on each side even 
with one end and put book back in press and 
sprinkle the edges, (Full instructions for 
finishing edges will be given farther along.) 
after which it is taken to the table, given a 
•coat of glue and the headbands attached, and 
the back lined up with two thicknesses of heavy 
wrapping or cover paper. A very neat head- 
band can be made Mr this kind of work by 
taking a strip of striped percale about one 
inch wide and a foot long, (the stripes running 
the short way,) giving it a coat of paste, laying 
a string along the center and folding cloth 
over it. Fancy headbands can be bought of 
the supply house, and are preferable on the 
better grade of work. A strip of super is now 
usually attached to the bock to strengthen the 
joints, but as we have none, a piece of muslin 
can be substituted. The book is then given 


How TO Bin'll a BOOK". 


:*s 

another coat of glue for lining-up the back. 
In lining the back the paper should be a 
trifle longer than the book. When you attach 
it leave about a quarter of an inch of the glue 
exposed above it. Rub it down well to the 
back of the book, and turn book and fold 
lining sheet even with the edge of the back and 
rub it down well on the glue left exposed at the 
beginning. If the lining paper is thin it is the 
usual thing to give the back three thicknesses 
of lining. To do that you would now give the* 
back another coat of glue and fold the sheet 
back over it. After letting it stand a few 
minutes to set, fold the sheet back again and 
run knife along the fold to remove the surplus 
paper. Then with the scissors cut olT the 
surplus paper at the ends close up to head- 
bands. 

Cut the cords the book is sewed on down to 
within an inch of the book, and frazzle them 
out by bending them out straight from the 
back and striking them rapidly in a fanning 
motion with a piece of strawboard. Tear off 
the waste leaves of the book and with your 
'ingers give the frazzled ends of the cords a 
coat of paste and attach them to book. Then 
give the muslin a coat of paste and likewise 
attach it to the book. 

The next step is to make the “case” the 
same as in flexible binding, except as this book 
has square corners, the corners of the cloth 
must be clipped off with the scissors about an. 
eighth of an inch from the corner of the board 
just before you commence turning in the cloth. 


How to Bind a Book. 


You will notice on all cloth-bound books a 
gutter running the full length of book between 
She back and the boards. When placing boards 
in position allow for that space. When the 
book is ready to lay aside for the case to dry 
on it, rub folder along to form the gutter, and 
if you will have two pieces of column rules 
fastened to the edges of two nice, smooth', 
three-quarter inch boards and use the boards 
above and below the book when putting it 
under pressure after pasting end sheets, you 
will find them to answer all right. 

Library or half leather binding comes in 
nnder this heading, and follows the same 
course of treatment up to frazzling the cords. 



(Lacing oa the Boards.) 


Cut the cords off about three inches from the 
book and scrape the ends to a point with knife 
and put paste on them. Should you desiro to 
have raised bands on book they must now be 
attached to the lining paper with paste. The 
•cord the book is sewed on udll be large enough 






How to IUnd a Hook. 


for the bands. The next tiling in order is to 
lit. the boards on book close up to back and 
see that the “squares” are properly divided. 
The square in front should be a trilie larger 
than at the ends. On this kind of binding the 
boards are always laced to the book. Place 
boards on the book and mark for the first 
holes opposite the cords and about a third of 
an inch in from the edge. Punch three holes 
with an awl, then turn board over and punch 
three more holes about half an inch in from 
the first ones and a little to one side of them. 
Now place the boards on book and pass cords 
in through the first holes punched,then out at 
the others, and draw the board up snugly to 



(Paring the Edges oi the Leather.) 
the backing of the book, after which give the 
holes farthest in a small rap with hammer to 
close the board up on the cords, when the 
surplus cords are cut off. 

The leather is now prepared and put on as 
described in a previous chapter. The leather 
had better bo dampened quite thoroughly with 
a wet sponge before paring the edges, and it 
will work down around the bands better if wet. 





Mow to Bind A Book. 


II 


The learner is assured that it is no easy thing” 
to learn to do a neat job of leather paring. I 
would suggest that you coax a shoemaker into 
giving you a few lessons. Another important 
and rather cliMoult thing in connection with 
this kind of binding is “setting the heads,” or 
in other words, rolling the leather over the 
headbands nicely. When turning in the leather 
at the ends of the book, do not turn it in as 
closely at the headbands as you do over the 
boards, then insert the point of folder in at the 
back of the boards and give a slight pry out¬ 
ward, then with folder rub the leathern lightly 
over the headbands and it will form a roll and 
partly cover the headband up. It will take 
quite a little practice to do this neatly. As 
there has been no bandsticks listed far, you 
will have to rub the leather down on each side 
of the hands neatly with the bone folder. 


45 


How to Hind a Book. 


Chapter V. 

BLANK BOOK BINDING. 

In order to do what is known half bound 
spring back binding we will have to lay out a 
little more money in machinery, and just a 
trifle in material. We will, therefore, secure 
what is known ns a back molding iron, 
and a piece of web band. We may now pro* 
ceed on our first spring-back book, expecting, 
of course, to run into many difficult ies as we 
proceed. Still we may hope t<> inn -■ ter the sit¬ 
uation sooner or later to our entire satisl’ac* 
tion. Going, as wo are now. into the blank- 
book making business on a small scale, we 
may, if we take special interest in the work be¬ 
fore us, manage in a few months to turn out a 
fair blank book, of course it will require 
practice, and by many may be gi\<n up as not 
practical to go this far into the bookbinder’s 
trade. Yet for those who desire to overcome all 
obstacles, I will make all technical points as 
plain as possible, and the carrying out of my 
instructions must depend upon him who thinks 
by their aid he can master the work. 

Our first move toward the job in question 
will commence with the examination of the 
heading. Taking it for granted that our job is 
ruled and printed and ready for the binder, 
we first examine each sheet carefully and see 
that none but perfect sheets ent°r the book. 
We then fold all the perfect sheets in sections 
of five sheets, if ou ledger paper; if on ordi- 


How to Bind a Book. 


U 

har\ l!at, say a 24-pound demy, then fold in 
six or seven sheet sections. We will say we 
have now. in hand an eight-quire medium book 
on 4()-pound ledger paper. After folding” it in 
live-sheet sections, we rub the fold firmly, th<» 
closer the better. We now jog it up perfectly 
straight, being careful that all sections are 
placed one way, and always jogging them at 
the head. We take four sheets of blank paper, 
same weight and size, and fold in two-sheet 
sections, which are known as the end sheets. 
After folding, paste a strip of white muslin 
about an inch wide down through the fold on 
the inside sheet thus strengthening the fold for 
the sewing and place this pair of end sheets on 
each side of the book, front and hack; jog up 
carefully, and lay book aside for ten or fifteen 
minutes, giving tin* muslin strip a chance to 
dry. This done, we take the book, put it in 
the finishing press, and taking a pair of di¬ 
viders we divide the eighteen inches, or what¬ 
ever size we may have, into five equal parts, 
and then scratch with an ordinary hacksaw 
half an inch from each end—that is, half inch 
from extreme head, and same from the bottom 
of book, a:s in diagram herewith; scratch with 



saw deep enough to go through the fold, so 
that when the section is opened the scratch 
may be seen upon the inner part of sections; 
these two scratches are for the kettle stitches. 





















44 


How to Hind a Book. 

Then with pencil murk off the locution lor the 
hands, as per heavy lines in diagram. 

We now proceed to sew the book, using a 
three-cord linen thread well waxed, the lirst 
move being to take three strands of the thread 
long enough to cover the thickness of the book 
and two inches over, allowing an inch on each 
side of book; we make two of these into three 
strands of thread each, and slightly twist 
them. We then cut four web bands the same 
length as the two threads of three strands each 
already mentioned. Now thread a blunt needle, 
and taking the lirst section of the book, lay it 
face down and pass the thread through the 
lirst saw mark on the top, passing it in from 
the outside. We now draw thread through the 
middle of section, leaving enough thread on 
outside to tie a double knot to the three-strand 
kettle stitch guard, which is then laid into the 
saw mark perpendicularly. After we have 
passed the thread through the section with the 
right hand, we draw it through with our left to 
within an inch of the end of outside and knot 
it in a hard knot to the kettle stitch guard; 
this done, we may proceed with the needle in 
our left hand and pass it through the next 
mark from the head of the book, and out; then 
we draw the thread tightly, but not tight 
enough to tear the paper; having our needle 
on the outside, we now lay one of our web 
bands between the double marks, pass the 
thread over it and through next mark. Our 
thread now holds this web band in place, and 
we pass our needle with left hand over to next 


How to Rind a Book. 


45 


mark and push it through, drawing it out with 
the right hand; we lay another web band be¬ 
tween double mark and pass the thread around 
it and in again, drawing it through tightly 
with the left hand: we now have two web bands 
in their places. We repeat this procedure 
until we have four bands in their place, and 
we reach the kettle stitch at bottom of book. 
We pass our thread out and draw it through 
with the right hand, lay our kettle stitch guard 

in the saw mark as we did at the head, onlv 

« 

that we pass around it, and go back inside of 
section and back through outside again, and 
‘lien form the knot. We now lay the first sec¬ 
tion of our book proper on top of end sheet 
face down and head up, and go back to head 
of book just the same way we came to the 
bottom. When we reach the head we tie the 
knot the same as we did at the bottom, lay on 
another section and go back to the bottom 
again, lay on another section and return to 
the head, and so forth, using a folder to rub 
each section down firmly as we get through 
sewing it; repeating this until we reach the 
end sheet, tying an extra good knot at the last 
kettle stitch reached. In joining our thread as 
we proceed, we must be careful and always 
have the knots fall on the outside, and always 
where a web band appears, as it is there that 
the knot is least conspicuous and makes the 
best job, as you may always pass the ends of 
the knot under your cross threads over the 
web band. A knot should never be placed 
inside of a spring-back book, although you 


46 


How to Bind a Book. 


must place them there in a tight-back book. 
In preparing this kind of work for sewing 
some binders make saw mark on each side of 
the web bands instead of pencil marks, but 
such a custom should not be followed, as the 
book will not open as freely, neither can as 
good a job of sewing be done. Tf the sewer, 
before entering the section with the needle, will 
thrust it in at the place where it is to come 
out, the place can be easily located from the 
inside of the section. 

We will now proceed to forward the book 
or, in the language of the binder, put it in 
leather. Our lirst move, therefore, will be to 
take two muslin strips about an inch wide and 
the same length as the book, and paste them 
with heavy paste; then lift up the end sheets or 
first section of the book and place strip half on 
that section and half on second section. Re¬ 
peat the same thing at hack of book. Usually 
very large, heavy books have three or four 
sections reinforced in that way. Let the book 
lie for a half-hour or so to dry, then glue the 
back of the book well with a medium thickness 
of glue, being very cautious to get the glue in 
all the cracks and especially where the kettle 
stitches appear. This is the main part of a 
book bound this way. A book well glued is 
like a house with a good foundation, and this 
is really the foundation of the book. Having 
our book glued, we leave it to dry long enough 
to become so that the hand will not adhere to 
t he back of the hook in feeling it with the palm. 
We now trim the book on the front enough to 


How to Bind a Book. 


47 


smooth the edge, and then round the back. 
This accomplished, we place the book between 
two wood boards, letting them drop down 
about an eighth of an inch from the back of 
the outside sections, and put it in standing- 
press and give a hard squeeze, being careful to 
get it even, for if once pressed crooked it can 
never be straightened out. 

While we have our book in in press we may 
proceed to get out the necessary stock required 
in forwarding it. as it ought to stay in press 
about an hour or so. The lirst thing we will 
want is the boards for the cover. To secure 
these we glue two No. 25 and one No. 40 board 
together, one-third of the 4o board where it 
comes to the back of the book not to be glued 
at present. Boards before being glued together 
should be cut large enough to allow for a trim 
all around later on. Also paste a sheet of 
paper and attach to the No. 40 board. It will 
have a tendency to warp the boards toward 
the book. Place these between wood boards 
and put them in the press under slight pressure 
at first, then in a few minutes give them a hard 
squeeze and let them stay until wanted. Our 
next move is to get what we call the straps. 
These little things perform quite an important 
part in the construction of a book, and are the 
only strength given to the book outside of the 
gluing. These straps are cut the width of our 
space between the web stays, and long enough 
to lap three inches on each side of the book. 
The straps are usually cut from scraps of 
rough sheep, or fleshers, as it is called, but as 


48 


How to Bind a Book. 


we have no fleshers so far, we will substitute 
a piece of wagon duck, from the dry goods 
store. We now take the book out of press and 
trim the top and bottom. A little ingenuity 
will have to be worked right here or the cutter 
will tear off a corner of the book. Lay a 
piece of broom handle against the frame of 
cutter farthest from when kuib* begins to de¬ 
scend so that a little of it will he cut off in 
trimming the book, then place book up snugly 
to it. A small piece of soft pine board should 
be trimmed out to fit under the back also, when 
you should hnv no trouble in getting a neat 
trim on the book. 

Our next move is to color I he edges. This 
may seem hard, hut is very simple'. Get a 
package of Diamond Dve, gv. m: place it in a 
vessel and pour one and one-half cups of 
water over it, and boil. Then strain it through 
a piece of old muslin to remove the scum 
which will form on the top. and you Jiave 
enough color for a hundred hooks like ve 
have in progress now. Apply this with a No. 
4 bristle brush or an ordinary small paint 
brush. Caro must be taken in applying this to 
the edge to avoid the color running into the 
book. To do this right. la\ your book down 
fiat, on a wood pressboard with the front of 
the book to you, and place a straight-edge of 
some kind on top and hold it firmly, pressing 
it downward, and while thus placed color if 
evenly. It will require but one coat. 

We are now ready for our straps. Pasting 
the back of the book lighth first., we glue the 


How to Bind a Book. 


41) 

straps, placing them between the web bands, 
and also at each end, making live straps to the 
book; we rub these straps well against the back 
of the book, and also where they project up the 
sides of the book. It will take but a few min¬ 
utes to dry these straps, and when dry we trim 
off the surplus of the two end straps, which of 
course will run over at each end a trifle. The 
next step is to lightly glue the waste leaf all 
over and fold it down ono third of the way of 
the book then give it another fold, bringing it 
down even with the back of the book. Turn 
the book and proceed the same way with the; 
other side. This is called making the hinge. 
'Trim the hinge down to about three inches in 
width: also clip off the corners and cut the 
hinge down to the back just outside of the first, 
and last web bands, as shown by heavy lines 
in diagram below. This done we are ready for 



the boards. We take one of the boards and 
lav it on the hook even with the first section 

t 

proper, and mark the book with the point of a 
folder from one end to the other, and then pull 
the board down far enough to allow the joint 
rod to play in the space, thereby forming the 
groove or joint. Suppose the joint rod is a 
half-inch wide; we will allow an eighth of an 
inch for the leather to play in and another 
eighth for our spring back. We now have our 
joint three-quarters of an inch wide. Making 
another mark with the point of the folder, leav- 







How to Hind a Book. 


f><» 


in**’ our board where we marked it the second 
time, and turning; the book over with 1 ho board 
riding where we have marked and carefully 
avoiding 1 shifting it, we now mark the size of 
our book on the board and cut the boards say 
one-quarter of an inch wider at top and bottom 
and three-eighths of an inch on the front. We 
now have our board cut with the projecting 
squares as required. Cutting the other board 
the same size we are now ready to attach them, 
which we proceed to do by bending back the 
No. 40 board enough to glue it and the other 
board. Now lay the board in place on the 
book letting that part of the hinge marked (A) 
to come in between the two glued boards, and 
the parts of the hinge marked (BB) to come be¬ 
tween the board and the book. Remember, the 
thinest board always comes next to the book. 

We now place our book under the cutter 
clamp "or a few minutes, giving it a. slight nip 
to get the boards in their place firmly, and 
then are ready to make the spring back. Tak¬ 
ing the book out of press we take a small piece 
of paper and measure the width of the hack of 
the book. To do this lay the book on the table 
back to you and place the end of the paper, 
which is acting now as a measure, about the 
sixteenth of an inch over the first mark which 
we made when we were measuring our hoards, 
and draw it around tightly to the other side 
the same distance and give it a fold or crease 
to mark where you left oiT. We now have the 
width or the expansion of our back, and our 
next move is to get the length, which we cut 


How to Bind A Book. 


51 


exactly the length of the boards. There is but 
one way to mould this back, and that is with 
the grain of the board always—the grain run¬ 
ning the narrow way of a full sheet. After 
cutting the back pass it through a bucket of 
water two or three times, letting the water 
penetrate through the board, and then let it 
get about two-thirds dry before molding it. 
The back being ready to mold, we hold it over 
a stove, getting it hot enough to make it fairly 
soft, and then place it in our backmold and 
rub it with a. stick (the end of an old broom¬ 
stick will answer), rubbing it firmly backward 
and forward until it has the shape of a half 
tube. We now line this back with paper, join¬ 
ing the paper lining on the. inside, and attach 
it to our book with two straps of paper, bring¬ 
ing the surplus of the strap over on top of the 
board cover. 

We are now ready for the leather. We 
take a niece of leather and cut it wide enough 
to lap on the sides of the cover about two 
inches on each side and about two inches at 
each end for turn in; we dampen the leather 
thoroughly and paste it with heavy paste, 
leaving it to soak for about ten minutes and 
then apply it to the book. Here is where our 
difficulty approaches us and we may play with 
this a long while before we get it to suit us, 
but practice will bring us there all right. The 
leather is placed on this book the same as on 
our half bound book, with the exception that 
we draw a little more leather out at the ends to 
form the head on the spring back, bringing the 


How to Bind a Book. 


52 


leather or using' the surplus that we draw out 
to form the head with a folder in a crescent 
shape at each end. Having the leather turned 
in we now place the joint rods in the grooves 
we allowed between the boards and the spring 
back. Joint rods are oval on one side and flat 
on the other. Placing the oval side against 
the book, we lay a sheet of paper on top and 
covering the full width of the leather, as a pro- 


(Iron for forming spring 
backs for blank books.) 



fcector so the leather will not stick to our wood 
boards, and put the book in press principally 
to secure the groove joint. We now press it 
pretty hard and leave it there for an hour or 
so. Taking it out while it is still a little damp, 
we tie a string around it where the joint rods 
made the groove, tying it tightly and removing 
the wrinkles which will form in the leather with 
a folder. We then set the two heads we formed 
before in a crescent shape. While the book is 
in this state we cut the leather corners just the 
same as we did on our half bound book, and 
after placing these on each corner of the cover 
we lay the book aside to dry for a couple of 
hours, when the cloth sides are to be glued and 
put on. After the glue has had time to harden 
paste up the waste sheets to the cover and give 
a squeeze in the press for an hour, when the 
hook is ready for finishing. 



to Bind a Book. 


5:i 


CHACTKM VI 


BLANK 

OK BINDING - Continued. 


i NDS AND BANDS. 

The next 

sect to be taken up is the book 

mm.»!iy call- 

nds and band binding. The 

*» ;i 1 h- T Us-..' 1 ’ 

Mosher or split sheep, and red 

row hide. T 

' slier has a unolv surface and 

i - of :« ctvaiu 

. The him ing about to be 

11 1 ' C V i h* s ) js 

My employed cm ledgers, etc. 

To bind 

•ok of this character the work 

is ca 11 *i* 1 1 ah 

he same as in preceding chap- 

hi !o vi h'. P‘ 

spring' back ha s been formed 

; 1 i;11 i f! 

he book. 


back is put in place on the 
back Of O ' ! - k, compass the back into live 
<’• •;a i parts ur di visions. Place the two top 
bubs M ah ' <• the marks and the two lower 
1 > : ju •! b ! i*e marks. This will leave the 

h'< nb p pa ’ 1 ’ •> \idth of a hub wider than the 

two it u« ; n> 1 110 Is, so that the strip of cow 

hide in tin* c<' r may be of more imposing 
on m 'i<>ns not look like a mere patch of 
). <i i ill *r it a in.; no duty to perforin, but will 
eivt (In in ", solid and stable appearance 

and \<>t h a { in- top and bottom panels the 

■rigid width l<». !la leather end strips. 

The* next • ■ ji is making and attaching the 
hubs. (Yd tvo )i!.\ strips of about N T o. 00 straw 
■board three- ■.!(,; hs of an inch wide and six 
.inches Ion;--, h-hif live strips together and by 
•cat clung them at the ends and bending them 
hastily a few times they will become more or 


How to oi md a Hook. 


less pliable and be more easily bent around 
(ho back of the book. Glue the bottom strip 
and attach them to the book. Alter the ends 
are bent down they will have a tendency to 
want to creep away from the sides of the book, 
which can be overcome by using the compass 
as a clamp, letting - it hold them while you pre¬ 
pare another hub. After the hubs are attached 
take book out of finishing press and lay it on 
a table, then place a small board on the top 
ends of the hubs with a weight on t< p of that, 
and let lay until dr\. 

When the book is thoroughly dry cut down 
11 1 *• hubs even with the sides ol th< book, bv 
bolding - knife on a lev* 1 ! with the boards, then 
-lightly round olV sharp edges. Gut- out 
llcsher to cover whole book so it will overlap 
an inch all round, paste thoroughl\ and fold 
in center. I hit. on book so fold will be in 
muter of back and draw over tight and turn in 
bather at front of book only. Work leather 
in around hubs with linger and thumb and 
then with rubbing stick. Place tins on inside 
of hook even with the back edgvs of boards: 
m the outside of book place firsi tie* joint rod 
in groove between board and spring hack, then 
a sheet of clean, blank paper and a sheet of 
binders’ board; put in press for fifteen min¬ 
utes, then take out and work leather up close 
around hubs with folder or rubbing stick: 
after which trim awa.\ surplus leather at ends 
of book even with the boards. 

In cutting the red leather for the ends allow 
an inch for turn-in. The neatest way to get 


How to Bind a Book. 


55 


out the two pieces is to cut one piece just 
double the width wanted for the end pieces, 
then wet it thoroughly and work it with the 
hands like a woman does when washing a rag. 
Pare the edges all around; smooth out on a 
table and with knife and straight-edge divide 
into two equal pieces. Paste them thoroughly 
and attach to book, making the turn-in and 
forming the head at the same time. Should 
thyre be too much leather at the corners to 
make a neat job, raise up end of leather, turn 
it back on a smooth board (or a piece of plate 
glass is the best to pare leather on) and pare 
the leather down until satisfactory. The 
leather for center panel must fit snugly up to 
both hubs and extend exactly one-third the way 
up each side of book. The edges of this piece 
are not pared. Put on joint rods, tins and 
papers, and put in press for an hour, then take 
out and tie with string and set the heads and 
go all over book to see the leather is adhering 
properly and fitting the hubs nicely. 

The next move is to mark the red leather 
for trimming the edges straight, then with 
knife cut away the leather neatly, using care 
that the knife does not cut llesher. Attach the 
leather for title panels, and book is ready for 
finishing. 

T HI IEE-V U A RT Ett BINDING. 

The forwarding of this stylo of book is the 
same as ends and band up to putting on the 
hubs. Before putting on the hubs paste and 
•draw on the llesher, but do not turn in any 


5G 


How to Bind a Book. 


where on the book. Place joint rods and white 
paper on each side of book and give a squeeze 
in press, after which take out and trim all the 
surplus llesher away even with the edges of the* 
boards. We are now ready to put on the 
hubs. The best method for locating hubs on 
three-quarter blank books is as follows; Alter 
the loose back is put in place on the back 
of the book, compass the back into live 
equal parts or divisions. Now, we will say 
the strawboard strips you are going to use for 
hubs are three-fourths of an inch wide; hold 
one of them edgeways at the top oi the hook 
and measure from the top of it with dividers 
and mark location for first hub, then proceed 
and mark otT for the other hubs. By gluing 
the hubs on just below the marks you will have 
them equally located. This style ot book is 
where the red leather covers the entire back 
and about two inches around the lids, leaving 
a square of llesher in the center. In cutting 
leather for the back make it four inches longer 
than the book, because it must be worked in 
rather loose around the hubs. The leather 
must be neatly pared to ‘make it join up nicely 
on this kind of binding. In working leather 
down around the hubs with the lingers and 
thumbs, do it about the way you would lit a 
new kid glove. The wrinkles that will form 
in the sides of the back leather, caused by the 
fitting around the hubs, must be gradually 
rubbed out and scattered with the bone folder. 
After getting the leather on the back place the 
joint rods, tins and papers on book and put it 


How to Bind a 'Book. 


;77 

in press for a short time, then put on the end 
leathers and finally the sides. Give another 
squeeze in the press, then tie string around 
book and set the heads, go over leather at 
hubs and edges of boards with rubbing stick, 
square up the panel with knife being careful 
not to cut Hesher, and finally lay book on 
table to dry, the under lid hanging down and 
the upper lid proped up. 

FULL LEATHER 1UNDINU. 

A class of books, particularly county rec¬ 
ords, are now being covered entirely with one 
piece of cow hide, which makes a very beau¬ 
tiful book, and are probably no more expensive 
than the book just described. On this book no 
Hesher is used, but a double hub comes into 
play, the second half being glued on after the 
first is dry. J)o not make these hubs as thick 
as on the former book, as the thicker the hubs 
the harder it is to lit tin* leather around them 
and get the wrinkles worked out. In cutting 
out the leather allow it to extend three inches 
at each end, for the double bubs will take up 
more slack. For the location and size of a 
hub on this kind of a book a set rule would 
hardly apply, but usually being a duplicate of 
some other book the dimensions can be taken 
from that, i 

PATENT HACKS. 

The so-called patent back book (the patent 
ori which has expired) differs from others only 
inasmuch as the sections of the book proper 
are sewed to a stub, making a hinge when com- 


i\H Now 'i'o i>iNi) a Hook. 

pleted, thus allowing 1 book to open perfectly 
Hat, and causing the purchaser to smile with 
satisfaction. The “guards” can be purchased 
by tin' yard or in single pieces, ft is easier to 
sew a book where single, guards are used, but 
some binders prefer them all in one piece. I 
would suggest the beginner use single guards, 
especially if he can get at a sewing machine 
that will use course linen thread and make a 
stitch a third of an inch long. 

In making a patent hack book the first and 
last sections should be composed of live sheets 
and the balance of the sections six sheets. 
Hold sections, and if you sew the guards on by 
hand, take a small awl and punch holes an 
inch apart through the fold and from the in¬ 
side. beginning a half inch in from the end 
and ending not closer Ilian half an inch of the 
other end. In sowing commence at outside and 
center of section, and sew with practically the 
same stitch as in check binding, only, of 
course, sowing through the fold, and tying 11 id 
two ends of the thread together with a. double 
knot. The waste sections at front and back of 
book are not attached to guards but are sewed 
directly to the tapes. 

In attaching the sections to the tapes sew 
the waste section as usual, then lay on first 
section of hook and whip-stitch along the lower 
half of the guard, making stitches half an inch 
long, going across tapes same as though hook 
was being sewed in the usual way. Lay on 
next section and whip-stitch the bottom half of 
guard to top half of the one below, and so on. 


How To 14] no a Hook. 


The whip-stitch need onl\ be placed in fai' 
enough from edge of guard to insure it not 
tearing out. 

If guards are attached to sections with a 
machine, commence sewing Half an inch in 
from end and finish same wav, then draw ends 
of threads out at hack and tie double knot, 
thus insuring them not to ravel and allow ends 
of sections to become loose. In sewing guards 
on a machine you will have to make two 
gauges (say a two-point rule on top of nonpa¬ 
reil slug, allowing rule to extend over slug a 
pica) and screw them down half an inch on each 
side of needle. The cloth side of the guard is 
the one that comes next to the section always. 
In using the guards all on one piece, tirst 
form the creases like shutting an accordion, 
then use two needles and threads, one to sew 
section to guard tin* other to sew guard to 
tapes as though it was a section of an ordinary 
book, and so on, sewing tirst one then the 
other all through the book. 

Glue the back thoroughly, and lower book 
in finishing press almost llusli with top, then 
give a good squeeze until dry, after which 
forward in the usual manner. 



i ! ' i\\ 


to Hind a Hook. 


M) 


OHAPTEK \ r 11 


FINISHING. 



1 i\V l> • 

e to finish a book is from 

t u, 

•1 ve to i .. *. 

-four hours after being put 

in 

i e aiuer . 

f1 d it stand longer the leather 

i >ei 

roiues do¬ 

harsh, and causes consider- 

a b 

le tl’oul 

et gold to stick. Much dilh- 

cully will !>*■ 

perienced by the learner in 

11 i 

erooming * 1 

obstacles to be met with at 

o \ • 

im - i nre. 

least put! of air will send 

tin 

■ g o 11 i *1 

ease is its abomination and 

in: 

ISt be lie 

y avoid' d except where the 

na 

i Ul'e ol ! ’ - 

ork especially calls for it. 


qi i i . 

I < > iio } / 1 

eg one must have a lettering 

]»**• 

Met. al !< o.i 

1 gilding roll, gold cushion. 


hi knife, l 

steel polisher, four small 

s p(» 11 e i ‘S. I' U i 

d banana oil. box of gilding 


m i|i‘V t win:- 

three eggs, two ounces pure 

S di ve oil and ; 

nch of cotton. Gold leaf can 

be 

purelia.sed 

he single book, or as much 

in*>re as desi> i 

Gold cushion can be made 


«>ut <d <! )* ’ ol eight inches square, three 

!'iof< s of i.i •' j US T paper ‘-even, seven and a 
half am; ei v • lies square, a few tacks and 
<noiu.il i). r <*r cowhide to cover it. Put 
dies! pi<( .-I blotter next to board and 
iarge>t pit re on iop, then tank on the leather, 
undressed •: )< up. To make e-lair take the 
"Idles of lb •> . e-gs, beat them with an egg* 
beater and i< ! -tand until morning', then pour 
liquid in bod!' and add three tablespoonsfull 
of vinegar and a half dozen drops of milk. 


WXJM ! 


flow to Bind a EIook. 


/ 




It' vour drug-gist does not have the banana oil 
he can easily procure it for you. 

Much difficulty will be experienced by the 
novice in finishing*, and sometimes even by men 
who have been long at the trade, in making 
the gold stick in a satisfactory manner, and in 


(Lettering Pallet; 

getting the clean neat gloss so essential to ii 
well finished book. This is caused by a va*- 
rietv of reasons, and that the workman may 
better understand these reason^ I will give the 











Flow to Bind a Book. 


<;2 

best methods of preparing the different kinds 
of leather in common use. for all this difficulty 
must be traced to the preparation of the 
leather. 

Glazed skiver, being the least porous 
leather used in bookbinding, is the simplest to 
prepare for finishing: first wash the leather 
clean, using a sponge, with very thin paste 
water; about a tablespoonfull of paste to a 
half pint of warm water, well mixed and the 
lumps well strained off being about the right 
proportion. When dry give two coats of glair, 
don’t give the second coat until the first coat 
is thoroughly dry, use a sponge. When the 
second coat is quite dry the book is ready for 
the gold. Place your book now in the finish¬ 
ing press, get gilding roll so hot that when 
touched with wet finger, like a woman does an 
iron, it will sizle quite lively, but if too hot it 
will burn the leather and the gold will not 
stick. Have a sheet of gold on the cushion cut 
in narrow strips, and a bunch of cotton with a 
few drops of olive oil work into it. Take up 
roll with right hand, the handle resting on 
right shoulder and bent part of iron shank 
down, with left hand rub oiled cotton lightly 
around edge of roll, turn roll lightly on strip 
of gold, and it will be found that the wheel 
has taken it up. Repeat until wheel is covered, 
then run it firmly over the back of the book, 
having first wiped the back of the book with 
the oiled cotton to prevent the loose gold from 
sticking to it. If you will place your left 
thumb where the line is to start, bring roll 


How to Bind a Book. 


ffi-5 

ovf'r against nail, quickly remove thumb and at 
same time start roll, you will find you have a 
most excellent gauge with scarcely any danger 
of burning the thumb. This should also be 
followed when lettering. 

.Tn lettering, rub leather with oiled cotton, 
with another lump of clean cotton, lightly 
rubbed against your hair to grease it slightly, 
take up a piece of gold sufficiently large for 
the lettering and place it on the book. By 
getting length of line with compass, starting 
point can be easily located and marked with a 
slight scratch. A small thread with a quad 
tied in each end gently laid across book where 
top of letters are to come will greatly assist 
you in running a straight line. Do not fasten 
.letters tightly in pallet until just before using 
them. Get your type the same heat that you 
had vour roll and lav'firmlv on the book. The 

«/ C- «u 

larger the letter used the more pressure re¬ 
quired to make gold stick. Now rub off the 
loose gold clean, and polish your book, hav¬ 
ing the polisher a little hotter than the type, 
and last thing give a thin coat of banana oil. 

Glazed roan is next in order. Follow the 
previous instructions, except make the paste 
water a little thicker and give three coats ot 
glair. Turkish Morocco and levant to be 
treated like glazed skiver, only after putting 
on the paste water rub well with a stiff clothes 
brush until almost dry, and put the glair on 
with a camel's hair pencil, if a sponge is used 
the glair is likelv to show white between the 
grains of the leather, and put the glair only 


How to Bind a Book. 


CA 

where the gold will cover. Undressed roan, 
cow hide. Russia and buffing may be prepared 
in the same manner as glazed roan, only use 
the paste water considerably thicker and the 
tools and type must he a little hotter. 

A different preparation for calf is neces¬ 
sary because it is more porous. You first put 
the colored title on your book, and having 
mixed your paste water thick as thin paste and 
very clean, add a few drops of oxalic acid, 
then paste the back of the book well with the 
paste brush and rub it in with the fiat side of 
the folder, after which wash off with the paste 
water. When dry give a coat of English gele- 
tin dissolved in hot water, about a cake of 
geletin to a teacup of water, then give three 
coats of glair, and when thoroughly dry lay 
the gold on with lard instead of sweet oil and 
use the tools the same heat as for cow hide. 
Calf thus prepared will keep moist- for some 
time, but the other leathers should be finished 
the same day or the leather may get too dry. 

Another way to prepare cow hide for finish¬ 
ing is to disolve a little thin glue in warm 
water, add to this a few drops of glycerine and 
wash the leather with this preparation instead 
of paste water, when this is dry apply a coat 
of thin glair, and after this has dried go over 
the back with a hot polisher, just as if the 
book was finished; then give another coat of 
thin glair, and when dry finish as usual. It 
will be found that by this method of prepara¬ 
tion a much better and quicker job can be done 
than by the old method of paste washing and 


Flow to Bind a Book. 


65 

glairing, because the glue dries quickly and 
gives a Firm foundation for the gold, and when 
you are absolutely sure the gold will stick all 
your attention can be directed to keeping the 
lines straight. In fact, this method of prepar¬ 
ing leather for finishing can be used to good 
advantage on all kinds of book leathers except 
English calf, • undressed roan and sheepskin. 
These latter leathers are of such a porous 
nature that a coat of paste water is first neces¬ 
sary to prevent the stronger glue size from 
staining the leather. A much better polish 
can be had on these leathers by using the glue 
size after paste washing and before glairing. 

Gilding powder is usually used for the pur¬ 
pose of stamping names on pocket books, 
bibles, etc. When using gilding powder, in 
order that bright lettering shall be the result 
upon any particular manufacture of leather, a 
limited application of moisture should be ap¬ 
plied just before the time of lettering, and 
when evaporation from the surface is apparent 
the powder may be applied with a bunch of 
cotton, after which lay a strip of paper on the 
book to extend up to where the tops of the 
letters are to come, then with another lump of 
cotton brush away the uncovered powder and 
you have a nice gauge to assist in getting a 
straight line. Some leathers having a par¬ 
ticularly glossy finish moisture will not read¬ 
ily penetrate, in such cases a very light coat of 
banana oil if properly and dexteriously ap¬ 
plied will greatly help in making a splendid 
job if the gum is distributed over the varnish 


How to Bind a Book. 


after it becomes dry as an accompanying’ aid. 
The temperature of the type however must be 
quite low. One of the principal peculiarities 
in powder lettering is that gold leaf must be 
attached to the type, and this is the opposite 
of ordinary finishing when prepared with the 
egg albumen. The type being heated, an oiled 
flannel should be rubbed over its face and 
then lightly pressed upon the leaf on the 
cushion. All gold overlapping at the upper 
edge of the type should be lightly pressed down 
slightly with cotton batting. By doing this it 
will greatly help in accomplishing a straight 
line. 

Lettering on cloth by hand is a hard job 
and of uncertain results. Even finishers of 
long experience avoid it as much as possible, 
preferring to attach thin leather labels to the 
back and lettering on them. However you 
should practice on it, using the different 
methods heretofore described, and possibly 
vou mav hit onto a combination that works 

v %/ 

satisfactorily. Cloth cases can be stamped in 
a job press by removing the rollers, heating 
the type every little while, and using a small 
amount of oil to cause leaf to keep its place, 
and the gilding powder. 

To finish books in antique, that is, without 
gold, have the tools not as hot as for gold and 
make the leather quite wet with clean water, or 
a piece of sal amonia about the size of a hazel 
nut dissolved in it will keep the leather moist 
longer and cause the tools to strike blacker. 
The tools require to be put in three or four 


How to Bind a Book. 


07 


times each to make them bright and glossy: 
when the design is complete brush the leather 
bright with a stiff clothes brush, and when 
thoroughly dry draw a earners hair pencil 
soaked in varnish through the thick lines and 
in 'the heavy tools used for center pieces; this 
gives a very nice, rich finish when carefully 
done and is usually appreciated as much, if 
not more, than gold finish. For antiquing a 
straight line use a plain gilding roll with a 
wooden plug driven in between wheel and 
shank to prevent wheel from turning, and mov¬ 
ing backward and forward with a jiggerdy 
motion. 

In blank rolling see that the rolls are run¬ 
ning freely before putting them on the flesher. 
To make them run freely, and also to get a 
good, even brown color, apply a plentiful 
supply of beeswax when the tools are thor¬ 
oughly hot-hot enough to set the wax in a 
blaze on application. The evenness of the 
color depends to a large degree on the speed 
with which the blank roll passes over the 
flesher. As the tool cools a slower speed is 
required, and vice versa when the tool is very 
hot. The blank roll should be brought down 
on the leather with a bang, otherwise the roll 
will dwell longer on the flesher at the begin¬ 
ning than at the other parts; this, of course, 
will produce a darker color and consequently 
an uneven effect, and would be liable to burn 
the leather too deeply. Another way to get an 
even color with burning rolls on fleshers is to 
first wash the flesher with oxalic acid and when 

f 


How to Bind a Book. 


6S 

drv roll as usual and a nice dark brown tint 

•j 

will pay them for the extra labor. 

In polishing, use the iron as hot as the 
leather will bear without turning up white: do 
not forget to polish the head, the edges and 
the inside squares of the lids. If the boards 
should have a slight warp outward, and the 
book be already pasted up, go over the inside 
of the board with the polishing iron: if pres¬ 
sure enough be used the warp will thus be 
counteracted. 

If the book is pasted up and pressed after 
finishing, as is usually the case, put joint rods 
in and rub them first with a greasy rag. 
Banana oil varnish should be applied spar- 
inglv and neatlv. and should be worked on 
with a circular motion, making small detours, 
and never in a straight line. The leather 
should be gone over with a greasy rag after 
varnishing and before putting in the press. 
Do not forget to also rub the press tins with a 
greasy rag before putting in the book. 

It is usually the case for flesher to become 
more or less soiled in binding, which can be 
remedied by wrapping a piece of medium sand 
paper around a small block and give the 
flesher a thorough going over, using care not 
to scratch the other leather. 


How to Hind a Book. 




Chapter VIII. 

FANCY EDGES. 

GOLD EDGES. 

In edge gilding much care must be taken to 
trim the book smooth as it saves considerable 
scraping, and the gold will not stick unless a 
smooth edge is prepared for it. Place your 
book in the press, the edge to be gilded up¬ 
wards, as flat as possible and screw very 
tight. Rub over with red chalk dissolved in 
water, then scrape perfectly white, leaving a 
smooth, bright edge. Now dust over the edge 
a little red chalk and rub it in with a solution 
of gum tragacanth of about the eonsistancy of 
cream and rub with a soft brush until drv, and 
then carefully burnish with an agate. It is 
now ready for the gold. Very strong paper 
will require stronger size than for hard paper, 
but for ordinary book paper white of one egg 
to half pint of pure water and ten drops of 
muriatic acid will be the right proportions. 
Put size on freely with a flat camel’s hair 
brush and be sure to get gold on flat and with¬ 
out wrinkles before the size dries, otherwise 
the gold will not stick. Cover up the edge so 
that nothing will touch it while drying. When 
the gold can be rubbed on the gilding board, 
that is, the board on each side of the edge, 
without rubbing off, the edge is dry enough for 
burnishing. This is done by first going over 
it with the burnisher, with a sheet of writing 
paper over the edge between the gold and the 


7<> 


How to Bind a Book. 


burnisher, having- rubbed the top side of the 
paper with a little*beeswax on a leather pad to 
allow the burnisher to slip over without stick¬ 
ing; when you have burnished it well over the 
paper then rub the waxed pad over the edge 
and burnish very carefully with the agate. 

In edge gilding enamel paper scrape down 
the rough places. Don't have any moisture on 
edge up to this point. Sprinkle red chalk just 
enough to make a good ground for the gold, 
then take a sponge dipped in thin paste, free 
from lumps, and rub the red all over, then 

t*- 

brush it thoroughly dry before laying on the 
gold. The size ought not to be stronger than 
the white of one egg to a pint of cold water, 
well beaten up, and allowed to stand an hour- 
before using. Apply quite liberally but not 
enough to make pools. Cover edge to keep oil' 
dust. When edge is dry, probably an hour or 
an hour and a half after laving on, take vour 
wax pad and apply it very liberally, then 
burnish directlv on the gold. 

v O 

RED EDGES. 

A cheap, good looking red edge can be 
made from eosine dissolved in water, put on 
with a sponge and brushed with a stiff brush 
until dry, then burnished. This will not rub 
or peel off, and for all ordinary purposes ans¬ 
wers very well. 

To make a red and gold edge, before put¬ 
ting your book in the press to gild fan out the 
leaves very carefully and apply eosine red dis¬ 
solved in water, not very strong, with a 
sponge. Look out and have only enough in 


How to Bin t d a Book. 


71 


the sponge to stain just the edge, or it will get 
too far in and spoil the margin, 

PEARL EDGE. 

Put the book in the press, same as for gild¬ 
ing, keeping the edge very flat, scrape smooth 
without putting on red chalk, and lay the gold 
on the white surface with gilding size. When 
dry burnish with paper between the gold and 
burnisher the same as in edge gilding, then 
tool the edge into any pattern, as in finishing, 
making a pretty deep impression. Then take 
a smooth scraper and scrape off the gold 
where the tools have not pressed down. The 
edge may be burnished or left dull according 
to taste. The effect of this edge is very pretty, 
and as a wedding or birthday present for a 
young lady nothing can be more chaste, es¬ 
pecially if the book be bound in white vellum 
or virgin Morocco. 

BLACK EDGES. 

To give a book a neat black edge observe 
the following process: Put the book in the 
press as for gilding and sponge with black 
writing ink, then take ivory black, lamp black 
■or antimony, mix well with a little paste and 
rub on the edge with the ball of vour hand till 
it is perfectly black and a good polish is pro¬ 
cured. Then burnish the same as any other 
color* edge. The edges require to be scraped 
in the same manner as for gilding and is quite 
as expensive. 

GREEN EDGES. 

Much difficulty is experienced in coloring 
the edges of books interleaved with blotting 


—o 
< — 


How to Bind a Book. 


paper, cm- where the book is made of very soft 
paper, or where considerable gall has been 
used to make the feint line ink flow evenly, as 
the color runs in on the outer edges of the 
leaves. To prevent this dissolve a few flakes 
of gum tragacanth in liquid green Diamond 
Dye. This will form a paste and may be ap¬ 
plied to the edge with a sponge, and will make 
a line green edge without danger of running in. 
To burnish this edge, first rub it lightly with 
the beeswax and then go over it with the 
burnisher, and a nice effect is the result. 

SPRINKLED EDGES. 

Take equal parts of Venetian red and burnt 
umber, dissolve in water and add a little paste 
and olive oil. Apply by using a small shoe 
polishing brush rubbed over a seive made of 
screen wire attached to a frame. The right 
size sprinkle can be judged by testing it over a 
piece of blank paper. The heavier the brush 
is charged the larger will be the spots. 

TRANSFERRING MARBLE. 

Trim the book smooth and screw up in the 
finishing press between boards not very tight. 
Give the edge a coat of glair, put a piece of 
“Belgian-’’ marble paper, face downward, on 
the edge, while the edge is still wet, and with a 
fiat brush saturate the back of the marble 
paper with muriatic acid, then lay three or 
four thicknesses of paper on top and rub it 
gently with your hands. Comb paper comes 
off best. English and imitation English 
marble papers also work well, and make a 
pattern that none but professional marblers 


How to Hixd a Hook. 


~ •» 
4 *> 


I'iin imitate. German paper does not work 
very well. On some kinds of paper it will be 
found necessary to pound the marble paper, 
while transferring 1 , with the backing hammer, 
keeping a pad of waste paper between the 
hammer and the marble paper. With very 
little practice good edges can be made. 

MOTTLED EDGES. 

It takes a little practice to make this kind 
of an edge, and also some patience as well, to 
get it to suit. First get the wax. The best 
adamantine candles will answer admirably. 
They can be procured at any grocer’s. Melt 
them in a quart saucepan. Take the strings 
out. Melt until very hot without burning. 
Make a brush out of some broomcorn about 
1 or IT inches thick. Wrap tight with string 
about 1 i inches from the end: cover the cord 
with a piece of flesher and place it in the hot 
wax. Take the brush with the hot wax adher¬ 
ing. and striking it on the press pin or some 
other suitable article to jar the particles of 
wax from it, judgment may speedily be made 
of the size of the spots needed. The best way 
is to take a sheet of paper and try the brush, 
as it may be too full of wax, and beat out 
until the size spots needed are obtained. Then 
take the color and put on with a brush. When 
the book has been cut on the front put it in the 
finishing press, and see that it is screwed 
tight. Take the paste brush and cover with 
paste. Rub dry with some shavings, and see 
that it is dry before putting wax on: if damp, 
the color will run under. If two colors are 


Wow to Bind a Book. 


*U 

needed, after pasting 1 and rubbing dry. take 
picric acid and coat the edge: let dry: then 
sprinkle with wax: then put on the red color. 
When dry, take a dull knife and scrape off. 
For three colors, put on plenty of wax: then 
put on a green color; when dry scrape off all 
the wax: .then wax again: then color with red. 
and when dry scrape off clean, and you will 
find you hare three colors—a white spot, a 
green spot, and a vein of red running through, 
and so on. Combinations can be made to suit 
the fancy. 

. j*.* .... 

A new idea for burnishing or rather polish¬ 
ing sprinkled, marbled or colored edges, is 
fast coming into use. Instead of the agate or 
bloodstone burnisher the new ones are made 
of steel, the same shape of the stone burnishers 
and are used hot like a polisher, so that if a 
liberal amount of beeswax is used in the usual 
manner on the edge a very brilliant gloss is 
obtained with very little labor. 

A very good edge scraper can be made from 
an old saw blade about two inches wide and 
five inches long. The edge to be kept ground 
perfectly square. 

Another useful implement can be made from 
the same thing about three inches wide and six 
inches long, with the edge ground down about 
half sharp and rounded. It is used for turn¬ 
ing in the edges of cloth cases. 


How to Kind a Book. 


<. * 


C'HAP'i'KK IX. 

CONCLUSION. 

WASTE LEAVES. 

There are many different methods of making* 
end papers. A good method, which applies 
particularly to first-class blank books is the 
following*: Four sheets of paper are required, 
which should be the same as is used in the 
book. Fold the four sheets singly. Cut two 
strips of leather, cloth, or linen, whichever 
you wish to use, about two and one-half inches 
wide and the length of the fold of the four 
sheets. These are laid upon a piece of waste 
paper and glued carefully with thin, warm 
glue. If leather is used the edges should first 
be pared. One strip is now taken and laid 
upon the bench, the glue side up. A sheet of 
the paper is taken and the folded side carefully 
placed upon this not quite half way: another 
sheet is taken and laid parallel to the first with 
about one-eighth inch between. The whole is 
now turned over and rubbed carefully with the 
folder, to insure the cloth adhering at every 
part. The other is treated in like manner, and 
thus the four sheets become joined by the cloth 
in a pair of end papers.Marble paper is now- 
taken and trimmed near the size of the page, 
glued and laid upon the inside of the end 
papers, allowing it to overlap the cloth, so 
that when finished the cloth joint will be about 
two inches broad, with the fold in the center, 
after which give them a nip in the press, then 


» 


}|(*w r to i>i n’l> a Book. 


lay aside to dry. A good way to place.the 
marble paper on the sheets is to lay on the 
under one and smooth it down, then lay the 
other one on it, glue side up. and bring the 
top sheet over on that, thus insuring the 
margins of the cloth or leather hinge being the 
same width. 

To make end sheets for large books to show 
cloth joints, cut a strip of cloth an inch and a 
half in width and same length as book, cut a 
sheet of fancy end paper same length as book 
and one-fourtli of an inch wider, cut a sheet of 
plain paper double the width of fancy sheet 
and fold in center. Now paste cloth to plain 
side of fancy sheet with one-fourth inch lap. 
Now tip fancy sheet to inside of plain one so 
the one-fourth inch cloth will be between them. 
Now give the whole business a one-eighth to 
one-fourth inch fold-over at the back and hook 
it over the first section of the book, when it 
will be sewed through with the first section. 
The first and second sections must be tipped 
together with paste to hide the stub of the 
waste section. When ready to paste up book 
tear off top waste sheet, which will leave an 
inch strip of cloth and the fancy end sheet ex¬ 
posed. Paste cloth and attach to cover of 
book. After which cut another fancv sheet 

V 

and attach to cover, leaving one-fourth to half 
an inch of cloth exposed. 

BOOKBINDER’S PASTE. 

Take a quart of water and dissolve in it a 
teaspoonlul of pure powdered alum. Stir 
into this enough flour to make a thick cream. 


How to Bind a Book. 77 

Break up every lump in the flour until the 
mixture is smooth. vStir in next a teaspoonful 
of powdered resin. Now pour in a cupful of 
boiling water. Stir it all well. When the 
mixture has thickened from cooking with the 
boiling water, pour it into an earthen vessel. 
Add a few drops of oil of cloves. Place in a 
cool place. When any portion of it is desired, 
take what is needed and soften with a little 
warm water. For larger quantities, adjust the 
proportions a e co rd i n g 1 y. 

ALWAYS READY GLUE FOR TABLETING. 

It is quite a consideration in most printing- 
offices to have glue always readv to make tab- 
lets without having to await the slow process 
of lighting up the stove and heating the gltte. 
The following recipe will be found to fill the 
bill to a dot. The glue always remains read}* 
for use: Acetic acid 16 ounces, ground glue 
11 ounces: placed in a quart glass fruit jar 
and left for twentv-four hours: then add two 
ounces of glycerine and one-half ounce boiled 
oil. Color with Diamond Dye to suit. To 
make tabs extra strong put on a coat of glue 
and attach a piece of super, then another coat 
of the glue. 

MAKING CASES. 

In making cases for a number of books of 
the same size, first find location of boards, as 
described in edition binding, after which cut a 
strip of strawboard or binders’ board the 
exact width of the space between the boards 
and it will be found to answer nicely. Should 
you have a large number of cases of the same 


How to Bind a Book. 


si/e to make, plane a wooden hoard down to 
right width, then nail a piece of riglet across 
one end at exact right angles, so as to form a 
T and it will answer as well as a five dollar 
case gauge. When making the • cases, first 
glue the cloth, lay on one board, then the 
gauge, then the other hoard, then take otT 
gauge and in its place lay on a strip of lining 
paper the same length as the boards and the 
exact width of the back of the hook. Then 
turn in the edges of cloth. 

When making leather cases, fan out the 
hoards so the back edge will take about one- 
fourth of an inch of paste, then lay boards on 
leather and put on lining paper. When ready 
to turn in edges cut a piece of strawboard the 
exact size to cover both boards and center and 
glue a small strip in center to lift it by. Place 
it on case, then paste leather all around and 
turn in the edges. 

CANVASS COVERS. 

First cut two pieces of straw board the 
same length as book and about two inches 
narrower. Attach them temporarily to inside of 
book covers with a drop of glue, letting them 
come even with the outer edges of boards. Cut 
canvass so it will have an inch turnin ail 
around. Place it around book and paste and 
turn in the front edges and let it dry. Then 
remove from book and paste and turn in the 
ends. After it is dry square the turnins and 
attach a heavy piece of paper to the straw- 
board to bring it up even with canvass, then 
.glue on the marble paper^ To letter cover, put 


How to Bind a Book. 


70 


i? on book, slightly dampen canvass and use 
type in pallet inked with ordinary job ink. 

SOFT RUBBER TO CLEAN OFF GOLD. 

Take a piece of common rubber gum, or 
bottle rubber, some call it. and cut into small 
pieces; put into a cup and cover with coal oil. 
leave soaking four days, then take it out and 
rub well between the hands for half an hour: 
it is then ready for use. 

NOTES. 

JjePage’s glue poured in a bowl and thinned 
with cold water will work all right for gluing 
envelopes, labels, etc. 

For gluing brass or glass, give a light coat 
of Japan lacquer first, which can be procured 
at any paint shop, and then either paste or 
glue will stick firmly and hold indefinitely. 

The intention was when this book was com¬ 
menced to give a chapter ou marbling, but as 
it is difficult to learn and having* gone out of 
style except in very large shops, it has been 
left out. 

A binder's hammer is on the same style as 
a shoemaker's only usually a little heavier. 

The paring* knife should be gTOund all on 
one side, the upper, like a paper-cutter knife, 
and a razor edge kept on it with an oil stone.' 

Should you get a book to repair that the 
first or last section has become loose, it can 
usually be remedied by whipstitching loose 
section to the one next to it, thereby avoiding* 
taking the book to pieces and resewing* it. 

To put in a new lacing cord without resew¬ 
ing book, take small awl and make a hole 


KO 


How to Hind a Rook. 


where the old cord was about half way across 
back, then insert new cord with needle, flatten 
out cord and paste to back of book, and it will 
be found to answer nicely. 

In making the spring back for a blank book 
usually the best tar board is used, but ordi¬ 
nary binder's board will answer. 

One peculiarity well to remember is when a 
binder speaks of a quire he means twenty 
sheets, for example, an 8-quire book would re¬ 
quire lHO sheets of paper. 

Numbering the pages is usually the last 
operation on the book. To keep numbers 
from offsetting when numbering left-hand page 
ha ve a piece of blotting paper between that leaf 
and the one preceding. 

To transfer a sheet of gold leaf from book 
to cushion, lift up cover leaf, lay knife fiat on 
gold about half way down ar t d blow gently at 
edge of leaf, when it will fold over knife and 
can be transferred to cushion. Then at a turn 
of knife gold will usually fail into place 
smoothly. If it doesn’t, by breathing on it 
gently will usually accomplish the desired re¬ 
sult. It can easily be cut the desired size with 
the edge of the gold knife. 

Slade, Hipp A: Meloy, Chicago: and Gane 
Bros., Chicago and St. Louis, are wholesalers 
in binders’ supplies, and will gladly furnish 
catalogues and samples on request. 
































V 


















































































